Upgrading Laptop Battery Question

[dal524]

Hi,

I recently purchased a new laptop (Acer Aspire E1-472) that comes with the following battery.

http://www.battdepot.com/ca/model/notebook+battery/acer/aspire+e1-472/lac223.aspx

I know that the Acer Aspire V7 has the exact same specs as the one i purchased but comes with a 4 cell battery with a capacity of 3560mAh which lasts about 7hrs instead of the one in the above link which only lasts about 4hrs. My question is, if I purchase the one with a 3560 mAh capacity, will i be able to get the 7hrs of battery life (or at least more than the 4hrs?) Below are the two computers I am speaking about, their specs are the same except the V7 has a solid state hd and is touchscreen and comes with the 3560mAh battery.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/acer-acer-aspire-e1-14-laptop-silver-intel-core-i5-4200u-500gb-hdd-8gb-ram-windows-8-e1-472-6440/10270637.aspx?path=73c30dfbed117e584b2195205e462a07en02

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/acer-acer-aspire-v7-14-touchscreen-laptop-iron-intel-core-i5-4200u-500gb-hdd-8gb-ram-windows-8-1-v7-482p-6616/10276255.aspx?path=838e3c1816dfafb2071a38f3aaa11c8fen02

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[Geek-9pm]

You have new laptop (Acer Aspire E1-472). You indicate one model has a 7 hour life andf another has a 4 hour life. Where in that information found?

You question is hard to understand. The general rule is that only the capacity of the battery is specified. How long it lasts is not fully specified, only estimated.

Literature for the battery makes shows that, in a given set of con conditions, the larger capacity battery will last longer. But this does not directly comparing two models of a laptop and their respective batteries. Even a slight variation is significant. A unit with a solid state drive should use less power than  a hard drive . Nevertheless, there are other factors that influence battery life.

The manufacture in this case Acer is more qualified to answer your question. In general, using an overcapacity battery is no a good idea unless the design allows. There have been some serious issues with laptop batteries.

Battery engineers recommend that if you really need e long life for a road trip, take a spare battery with you. This is the more conservative approach.

The is the best answer I can give you. This is based on the experiences and recommendations of others, not just my personal observations.

[dal524]

the battery life is indicated in the specs in the links provided. the models are not the same name, one is acer aspire e1 and the other is acer aspire v7. I am aware that battery life estimations are only valid to a certain degree as it depends on what you are doing with the laptop. essentially i was asking if the battery life would be similar b/c within the two models, everything else is essentially identical except for the fact one has a solid state drive and is touchscreen. i will check with acer but i was just wondering if it is feasible to use a battery with a larger capacity. i can see that the battery that came with my laptop is 14.8 volts but this battery that has a capacity of 3560mah is 10.8 volts.

[patio]

Bottom line is you will never get 7 hours out of a battery rated at 4 hours...so the short answer is No.

[dal524]

i would be replacing the battery that lasts for 4hrs with one with larger capacity, shouldnt that increase battery life?

[patio]

Yes.

[Geek-9pm]

Some laptops are designing to have two disparate battery systems, but with compatible physical specifications.

The longer life battery is a 10 volt device.
The lessor life battery is a 14 volt device.
That is by design in some popular laptops.
When this  is done by design, the laptop will automatically adjust to the difference in voltage. Do not assume that is the case unless it is well documented.

Even if it was the design of the engineers, the larger capacity battery in the same physical case can generate more heat during changing. I n few cases, the batteries catch on fire. So this is part of the argument for using lower capacity batteries in a confined area. It is a safety issue.

That is way the spare battery is given as the better solution.
Ton's Hardware is one of many posts related to this idea.

Multiple batteries for a laptop?

[dal524]

thanks to everyone for their input. i've spoken to acer and all they can tell me is that no other batteries have been tested with my model so essentially they dont really have an answer for me as to if i can upgrade it. from what i hear it would be at my own risk.